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Under-5 Mortality Rate

What does it mean ?

The under-five mortality rate is the probability of a child dying before reaching the age of five; it is expressed per every 1000 live births and is subject to current age-specific mortality rates. A live birth refers to any baby that is born that shows signs of life outside of the womb.

Why does it matter ?

It is a general indicator of child health. Rather than being an indicator that looks specifically at health care delivery it is an indicator of the socio-economic, environmental and nutritional status of children. Reducing under-5 mortality globally forms part of Sustainable Development Goal 3.2, to end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age.

How is it collected ?

A preferable source of data for calculating Under-5 Mortality Rates is from nationally registered births and deaths. Where registration systems are incomplete, other methods are used such as household surveys where women are asked about every baby they have given birth to and how long the child survived or population censuses. To calculate the mortality estimate, the data from these sources are analysed statistically using a particular model designed by the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

Find out more about the Summary Definition and the Methodology for Collection and Calculation

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Summary Definition, Methodology for Collection and Calculation

Alternative Data Sources

The data for each indicator on African Health Stats (AHS) are published by the UN agency, or UN inter-agency group, which holds responsibility for global monitoring of the indicator. This varies by indicator. Please refer to ‘Data Source’. AHS uses data from these sources because such data are internationally comparable and it is the mandate of those agencies to prepare such data and monitor progress internationally. In some cases the UN agency has made adjustments to the data in order to make national data internationally comparable, for example they may adjust national estimates to account for differences in survey design, the extent of potential underreporting, and the definition of what is being measured (eg. maternal deaths). This means that at times there may be discrepancies between national and international estimates. Individual countries may prefer to instead rely on national figures for national monitoring. For uniformity, AHS uses only international estimates of the UN agencies in data visualisations.

The most preferable source of data for calculating the Under-5 Mortality Rate is from nationally registered births and deaths. However, in most African countries, although registration is improving, it is often incomplete. Therefore other sources are used such as national surveys from a representative sample of households where women are asked about every baby they have given birth to and how long the child survived or population censuses. To calculate the mortality estimate, the data from these sources are fit to a regression line using a particular model generated by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

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